{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T05:13:00Z","timestamp":1765948380085,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":61,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,11]],"date-time":"2025-12-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765411200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["EJIHPE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objective: This study on children in low-income families explored whether their mental health problems are attributable to distress from five socioeconomic disadvantage factors playing roles in the multiple disadvantage model. These factors are social disorganization, social structural factors, social relationships, health\/mental health, and access to care factors. Methods: The present study employed data extracted from the 2021 National Survey of Children\u2019s Health, describing 7540 low-income children. Weighted logistic regression was conducted (with robust standard errors). Results: It showed that such children were more likely to have mental health problems when seven variables were present. The variables were argumentative children, parents\u2019 difficulty with parenting, children\u2019s difficult peer relations, children being bullied, families\u2019 problematic substance use, families\u2019 use of public health insurance, and families\u2019 difficulty accessing mental health services. In turn, children were less likely to have mental health problems in the presence of six variables: a rundown neighborhood, an unsafe neighborhood, children\u2019s Hispanic ethnicity, children\u2019s Asian ethnicity, children\u2019s general good health, and parents\u2019 good mental health. The present study\u2019s findings support the multiple disadvantage model. Conclusions: That is, the five types of factors key to the model (social disorganization, social structural, social relationships, health\/mental health, and access to care) were observed to be related to low-income children\u2019s mental health problems. These findings\u2019 three main implications for practice are that it is crucial to (a) ensure children receive mental health services they need; (b) facilitate effective parent\u2013child communication; and (c) provide low-income families with psychoeducation. Their main implications for policy involve two domains. Improving physical environments and safety in poor neighborhoods is necessary, as is enforcing schools\u2019 anti-bullying rules and using schools to foster students\u2019 assertiveness.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe15120253","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,11]],"date-time":"2025-12-11T14:30:17Z","timestamp":1765463417000},"page":"253","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Factors in the Mental Health of Children from Low-Income Families in the United States: An Application of the Multiple Disadvantage Model"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2335-1677","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tyrone C.","family":"Cheng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Social Work, University of Alabama, Little Hall, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Celia C.","family":"Lo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Peraton, Defense Personnel and Security Research Center, Seaside, CA 93955, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"419","article-title":"Prevalence of adolescent substance use disorders across five sectors of care","volume":"40","author":"Aarons","year":"2001","journal-title":"Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.2105\/AJPH.2006.098541","article-title":"Use of mental health\u2013related services among immigrant and US-born Asian Americans: Results from the National Latino and Asian American Study","volume":"97","author":"Takeuchi","year":"2007","journal-title":"American Journal of Public Health"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"162","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psym.2011.07.011","article-title":"Do puerto rican youth with asthma and obesity have higher odds for mental health disorders?","volume":"53","author":"Canino","year":"2012","journal-title":"Psychosomatics"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1291","DOI":"10.1016\/j.childyouth.2010.04.021","article-title":"Falling through the cracks: Gaps and barriers in the mental health system for America\u2019s disadvantaged children","volume":"32","author":"Bringewatt","year":"2010","journal-title":"Children and Youth Services Review"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"413","DOI":"10.1037\/0002-9432.74.4.413","article-title":"Exposure to violence and low-income children\u2019s mental health: Direct, moderated, and mediated relations","volume":"74","author":"Buckner","year":"2004","journal-title":"American Journal of Orthopsychiatry"},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025). 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